Jarring Photo Highlights Texas's Mistake on TreVeyon Henderson's 75-Yard Touchdown

There was nothing but green grass ahead of the Ohio State running back.
ESPN

For a split second, Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson caught the football and saw nothing but blockers and green grass ahead of him.

Late in the second quarter in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night at AT&T Stadium, the Buckeyes dialed up a screen pass to Henderson in attempt to gain some chunk yards and set up a quick scoring drive before halftime. Texas, apparently, was not expecting it.

Henderson caught the ball at the 19-yard line, and every Longhorns defender was either behind him rushing the quarterback or way in front of him in anticipation of a deep ball. There wasn't a defensive player within arm's reach of Henderson until he ran past the 30-yard line, and he simply followed his herd of blockers and sprinted untouched into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.

A screenshot of the play began to circulate around social media, showing nothing but the green grass ahead of Henderson. Texas apparently was in some sort of prevent defense—a play call that could cost them the Cotton Bowl.

TreVeyon Henderson
TreVeyon Henderson had plenty of blockers ahead of him on his 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl. / ESPN

It was quite the response from Ohio State, which watched its 7–0 lead disappear on the Longhorns' seven-play, 59-yard touchdown drive before halftime that was kept alive by Arch Manning's fourth-down conversion.

At halftime, Henderson had tallied three carries for 20 yards and a game-changing 75-yard touchdown to give Ohio State a 14–7 lead. The Buckeyes will look to close out the Cotton Bowl in the second half and punch their ticket to a date with Notre Dame in the national championship on Jan. 20.


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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.